Nokia Launches Tool For Quick And Easy N-Gage Arena Tournaments

First tournament run with Finnish operator DNA and Colin McRae Rally 2005

December 15, 2004 – Nokia today announced that it has launched a tool to make creating N-Gage Arena Tournaments quick and easy with a minimal investment. The Global Arena Tournament Tool enables operators and retailers the possibility to create their own branded N-Gage Arena tournaments with a wide range of Arena enabled N-Gage games. The first competition using the Global Arena Tournament Tool will start today with Finnish mobile network operator DNA and using Codemaster’s acclaimed Colin McRae Rally 2005.

“The Global Arena Tournament Tool makes it easy for operators and retailers to set up and run their own branded N-Gage Arena tournaments for their customers,” said Gerard Wiener, Director, Network Gaming Services, Nokia. “We’re happy to kick off the first tournament created with the tool with DNA Finland and we welcome anyone else who is interested in running their own branded N-Gage Arena tournament.”

“Running an N-Gage Arena tournament is a great way for us to generate interest around our leading role in expanding mobile gaming in Finland,” said Markku Siikala, Head of Content and Services, DNA Finland. “All N-Gage game deck owners in Finland can participate, regardless of their network provider, and with a superb title like Colin McRae 2005 to play, we are sure to see some fast-paced rally competition.”

The Global Arena Tournament Tool enables operators or retailers to run their own branded N-Gage Arena tournaments. Working together with the N-Gage Arena support team, the tournament can be created and launched in a matter of weeks. The tool’s flexibility means that tournaments can be tailored for specific retailers, a specific title or even a specific city, region or country. Even global tournaments are easy to arrange.

Participants may sign up for an N-Gage Arena competition via an operator or retailer hosted website or xH^TML site. Once registered, participants can play the selected game and upload their performance results to the N-Gage Arena via their N-Gage game deck. Registered players then have their scores tagged to be included in the competition. The operator or retailer running the competition determines the length of the tournament, which can last a day, a week or even a whole year.

Tournaments can be combined with marketing efforts to boost sales promotions and related activities. In addition to exposure with key target audiences, the N-Gage Arena tournaments help generate interest and activity for operators and retailers, whether their online presence or physical store locations.

About N-Gage
The N-Gage game deck is an innovative mobile device that is creating an entirely new market for the games industry. Built for active gamers, the N-Gage platform is the first mobile and connected game deck to feature online high-quality 3D multiplayer game play over Bluetooth wireless technology and GPRS. The N-Gage device also offers unique online games services as well as a comprehensive and growing games catalogue from the leading game publishers. Nokia is the world leader in mobile communications.

Copyright © 2004 Nokia. All rights reserved. Nokia and N-Gage are trademarks or registered trademarks of Nokia Corporation. Bluetooth is a registered trademark of Bluetooth SIG, Inc. Some features and services are dependent on the network, supported digital content formats, the compatibility of other devices and applications, and other factors. Please refer to the user guide for more detailed information.

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